At first blush I thought "Geez, Downie netted Kyle Quincey, great deal for the Bolts", but this is actually a pretty fair trade. Quincey hasn't been as good as I thought he has been and Downie has been better than I thought. Also, Downie is only 24, which was shocking. He's a 40 point player at age 24 - good deal for the Avs.

If Downie can return to 20-30 form then it's a solid trade for Colorado. They're horribly mismanaged for the most part but I don't think trading what in essence was a late 1st/early 2nd for Downie is a horrible move. He brings some form of sandpaper too, which they're currently lacking.

That's a great overall haul for Tampa, impressive work by Stevie. Not a bad trade for Detroit or Colorado but IMO Tampa made out best.

I'm stunned that Quincey netted a 1st rounder, albeit a very low 1st rounder. He has zero points in 17 of his last 19 games and isn't exactly known as a defensive stalwart. Detroit seems to know what they're doing though, but I'm not really seeing the sense in that. Quincey goes back to where he was originally drafted, so the Wings obviously know him pretty well. This doesn't bode well for the Bruins though, the market seems to be set really scary-high.

I'm stunned that Quincey netted a 1st rounder, albeit a very low 1st rounder. He has zero points in 17 of his last 19 games and isn't exactly known as a defensive stalwart. Detroit seems to know what they're doing though, but I'm not really seeing the sense in that. Quincey goes back to where he was originally drafted, so the Wings obviously know him pretty well. This doesn't bode well for the Bruins though, the market seems to be set really scary-high.

Yeah I thought it was high too, but considering how awful a coach Sacco's been, IMO it stands to reason that Quincey will bounce back.

Per Dreger on the NHL Network, looks like the Sharks are the frontrunners for Nash at the moment. Already down 3-0 to Columbus wouldn't be surprised to see them make a splash, they have been brutal lately.

Per Dreger on the NHL Network, looks like the Sharks are the frontrunners for Nash at the moment. Already down 3-0 to Columbus wouldn't be surprised to see them make a splash, they have been brutal lately.

Antti Niemi has been the most atrocious player in all of sport across the globe recently.

Damn. Vermette was a guy I thought would work out great in shoring up the 3rd line and filling in on the top 6 in a pinch. Granted, 3 years remaining at $3.75m per would have likely been prohibitive given the Bruins' cap situation going forward.

#CBJ get a 2nd round pick this year (prev. Ottawa's) and a 5th in 2013, which goes to a fourth if Coyotes win a playoff round.

Per Portzline, it goes to a 4th if the Yotes win a playoff round. In my eyes that's a heist by Phoenix, considering that impending UFA Dominic Moore pretty much returned a 2nd (albeit a later one than Ottawa's).

I can see why Howson would have had a hard time getting more, but at point you may as well keep him, no? He could've gotten almost the exact same return, probably even more, for Vinny Prospal - yet he chooses to re-sign him with a handshake deal for recurring options and instead trade 29 year old who can play center/wing, is ace at draws, and will have 60 point upside for the duration of his contract at the nadir of his value. OSJ is right - on a mid-tier team, you can do a lot worse than Vermette as the #2 center.

Granted, he only gave up Pascal Leclaire to get him, so in the end I guess it's a win for Columbus.

That's a really bizarre trade. Kostistyn makes some sense for Nashville, but the Weber part makes no sense for either team. Nashville's already carrying 8 defenseman around, why pick up another? And why would Montreal be looking to move Weber?

Speaking of the Habs...anyone know what's up with Travis Moen? Looks like he has been scratched a lot recently, but I think he's a guy that would fit in well with the B's.

Apparently Gauthier has not made him available and is working to re-sign him from everything I'm hearing/reading.

I agree the Weber aspect doesn't make a ton of sense, but theoretically Nashville could send down Ellis and dump/waive Hillen, and go with Bouillon/Weber as their 6/7 defenders. I have no idea what Montreal's thinking is in treating Weber like chopped liver and scratching him half the time, he's miles ahead of stiffs like St. Denis.

Really good article on PuckDaddy by an anonymous player about the trade deadline and the stress it entails.

Imagine that you have come up in an organization and grown into a role where you are a regular contributor for your team. You love the city that you are in, and you love your teammates. As a group, you've worked hard to put yourself in a position where this year might be "the" year. You couldn't be more invested in YOUR team and now you have a legitimate shot at the Stanley Cup.At noon on deadline day, you get a call from your GM telling you that you've been traded away in exchange for what he hopes is the "missing piece."Devastating? I can't imagine. How would you feel if your ex-team then went on to win it all? It happens. In fact it happens almost every year. Just ask Blake Wheeler and Mark Stuart.

They don't need to blow it up. They need a healthy Nick Backstrom, consistent goaltending (whether from Vokoun or Neuvirth this year, or Neuvirth/Holtby/whoever next year), and players who are on the same page as their coach. This isn't a team who has a window closing this year. Experience will only serve to help many of the Caps players including Carlson/Alzner/Orlov on the back end and ditto Johansson/Eakin up front. Next year they may be adding Kuznetsov, too. None of the key core players are that old, either.

They could justify trading Wideman, Vokoun, Knuble, and guys like Schultz/Hamrlik/Ward if there were any takers and they decide to punt the season a bit, but that is not blowing it up. I still wish they had kept Boudreau and haven't like the Hunter signing from before it happened, but such is life. Monday will be an interesting day for the Caps... I could see them both getting rid of some parts and adding players, too.